Assessing the usability and reliability of a web-based teledentistry tool for remote diagnosis of oral lesions: a cross-sectional study

Autor: Fatemeh Niknam, Maryam Mardani, Peivand Bastani, Azadeh Bashiri, Diep Ha, Asma Sookhakian, Reza Akbari, Roxana Sharifian
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2024
Předmět:
Zdroj: BMC Oral Health, Vol 24, Iss 1, Pp 1-8 (2024)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 1472-6831
DOI: 10.1186/s12903-024-04696-7
Popis: Abstract Background Oral mucosa lesions are the third most prevalent oral pathology, following caries and periodontal diseases. Teledentistry offers an effective way to manage patients with these lesions. The accuracy of remote diagnoses and consultations relies heavily on the quality of the information and photos sent to remote specialists. This study aims to evaluate the usability and reliability of a teledentistry tool for the remote diagnosis of oral lesions. Methods The cross-sectional study included both usability evaluation and reliability assessment. The teledentistry platform, "OralMedTeledent", facilitated synchronous and asynchronous interactions, allowing for patient consultations, remote follow-ups, and doctor-to-doctor consultations. Usability was evaluated by 5 experts using the Nielsen heuristic checklist. Reliability was assessed from August 2022 to September 2023 with 109 patients, using Cohen's kappa coefficient to measure agreement between examiners and the gold standard in diagnosing oral lesions. Results The findings revealed 66 usability issues, most of which were related to helping users recognize, diagnose, and recover from errors, as well as issues with help and documentation. Among these, 11 issues were of minor severity. The reliability test, conducted with 109 participants (57.8% female, 42.2% male) showed that the web-based teleconsultation system performed significantly well. The system demonstrated significant substantial performance (0.81 ≤ κ 0.05). Conclusion Overall, the web-based teleconsultation system has proven to be reliable for the remote diagnosis of oral lesions, making it a valuable alternative during emergencies such as the COVID-19 pandemic. However, several usability issues have been identified and need to be addressed.
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